How to Form the Habits of Success

A key piece to your success in creating a thriving coaching business is having habits that bring success. Did you know the average person spends 40% of their day engaging in habits?

There are many “good” habits successful entrepreneurs cultivate. Before we look at the nuts and bolts of exactly how to create and maintain a “success habit”, here are a few prime examples of successful business habits:

1. Setting regular hours to do important business tasks, such as marketing and promotion, and sticking to them.
2. Using a “stay-in-touch” strategy that works for you, and maintaining regular contact with your tribe/list.
3. Consistently following up on potential leads for ideal clients.
4. Having organizational systems in place to run your business and take care of your clients smoothly and efficiently, and following those systems (no system works unless you work the system!)
5. Investing regularly in your business so it grows and brings a return on your money. For coaches, that usually means investing significantly in yourself, because you ARE the business.

You know the habits you need and want to have. Add your own to this list, and let’s get to the good stuff now – how to successfully create them!
It’s important to understand the mechanics of a habit, because then you can consciously form it. Studies show there are three essential components that must be present, or you cannot form a habit:

1. The “cue,” or what triggers it.
2. The “process,” or what you actually do.
3. The “reward,” or the result that makes you feel good. 

In order to form a habit, you need all three of these pieces. For example, let’s look at setting regular hours to do your marketing:

• The cue might be checking your calendar, and seeing that you’ve marked out a 90 minute time block for marketing.
• The process would be engaging in marketing activities.
• The reward would be the feeling of accomplishment, knowing that your work will bring you results in the form of leads or clients. 

Or, the reward might even be signing a lead you spoke with during that 90 minutes! So, in order to form any habit, whether it’s flossing or marketing, you need to make sure you find a cue, decide on a process, and create a conscious reward.

Do that for 21 days (the time it takes to form a habit), and voila! You now have a powerful habit imprinted on the neurons of your brain, and it will continue with much less effort on your part.

Now here’s the really fun part: you can change a “bad” habit into a “good” one!

Simply keep the same cue, but find a new process – and a more satisfying reward, if necessary (sometimes you can use the same cue and reward, all you have to do is change is the process. That’s the easiest way to change a habit!)

Although you can do this with any business habit, let’s use something very simple as an example, such as keeping an organized desk:

• The cue might be noticing you have an item in your hands that you’re not sure you have time to deal with.
• The process is setting it on top of a pile of papers that is stacking up on your desk (other items you didn’t have time to deal with in the moment).
• The reward is moving on to the pressing matter you need to address next, without spending time dealing with the trivial item.

To change the habit:

• Keep the cue: Noticing you have an item you’re not sure you have time to deal with.
• Change the process: Instead of setting it down on a growing stack, ask yourself if you can handle it in 2 minutes or less. If you can, do it. If not, put it in a folder marked “Awaiting my Response,” then when you have more time, go through the folder and do what you need to do to handle the contents.
• Notice your new reward: a clean, organized desk, where you can find things immediately when you need them. 

Once again, voila! 21 days later and you have a great habit that’s designed to bring you the success you desire.

To be successful as entrepreneurs and coaches, it’s important to always be working on our habits. The cue is a desire to help others, the process is looking for effective ways to do so, and the reward is a lucrative, soul-satisfying business and life.